Mar 16, 2015 -- In plastic injection molding, cooling time usually takes up at least two-thirds of the entire molding cycle. If the cooling time could be reduced effectively, the overall production efficiency can be greatly enhanced. Traditionally speaking, most of the cooling channels are designed and built by experienced engineers and molders. However, since the design of plastic products are getting more and more complicated, traditional cooling channels can no longer provide the best cooling efficiency for complex molding in order to fulfill the current industry’s needs and standards. As a result, conformal cooling technology was introduced under this context. With its significant benefits of providing effective cooling solution to complex molding, conformal cooling has become a vastly used cooling technology in the industry.

Moldex3D has cooperated with
One Process Machining (OPM) laboratory Japan closely to develop a useful simulation tool: Cooling Channel Designer (CCD) for conformal cooling users. With Moldex3D CCD module, users can build conformal cooling channels according to the contour of product in a fast and intuitive way in
Moldex3D Designer (Fig. 1). Moldex3D CCD provides flexible features which allow users to make cooling layout changeseasily; mold designers can change the cooling design to make cooling channels closer to the molded products in the cavity. In this way, the temperature can be more evenly distributed, eliminating cold and hot spots inside the mold. Therefore, product defects caused by poor temperature control, such as residual stress, warpage, voids, and sink marks, can be greatly decreased.

Fig. 1 Export cooling channels from CCD to Moldex3D Designer

One of the unique features in CCD is the “slicing” function. With this function, users can slice up the imported part into several sections. And, based on each intersecting surface (cross section) of the part, users are able to design a better conformal cooling system (Fig. 2).

In summary, the integration between Moldex3D simulation and Cooling Channel Designer (CCD) can enhance the performance of conformal cooling design to optimize heat dissipation and achieve uniform cooling. This will help improve product quality, sink mark and warpage issues to create advantages through the reduction of cycle times and costs.